Singing and learning (in) latin in medieval Europe

Abstract

This article explores how the learning of Latin from childhood as a literary and textual ‘mother tongue’ shaped the contours of Latin-texted song in medieval Europe. I show how, by contrast to most written traditions of vernacular song, medieval Latin song reveals traces of medieval childhoods, adolescent years, and young adulthood spent learning to sing, read, and write in Latin. I illustrate this in three ways: first, by considering notated Latin songs explicitly intended for young people to sing; second, by examining the refraction of Latin language learning in song; and finally, by exposing ways in which Latin song reflects upon or is connected to students, student life, and Latin educational contexts. Connecting the vast and complex tradition of Latin song to the realities of everyday life in medieval Europe and its emphasis on Latin education expands the scope of current scholarship to foreground the roles played by children, adolescents, and students in the creation and performance of Latin song.